A website is never neutral, it is a fascinating matrix of signs , a semiotic system. These signs dance with each other in symmetry or deliberate asymmetry to convey meaning beyond language. If the design is successful, this meaning is coherent, it runs across the whole system , it is its inner logic. The more one enters this territory, the more s/he sharpens his/ her perception and resonates with what Albert Einstein famously said:
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Let’s take the second path as we look, really look at a single sentence :
Experience the essence of the Maison through an array of emblematic creations falling under
Louis Vuitton official website
At first sight, like a brilliant poem it is deceptively simple, almost transparent . However, underneath this veil lies a universe of semiotic pleasure.
Brevity and Brand confidence
The sentence is quite small , the images underneath are small and so is the size of the words accompanying them. The restraint is deliberate in that is presupposes two things:
a. Brand confidence , it already existing as a shared cultural knowing
b An intelligent reader
In line with this the whole website design breathes , products seem to float never crowded , text is minimal and colour gradients are muted. As far as the latter is concerned, the reader is
not flattered there are no about you sections, something which reinforces his/her dignity and equal status.
Choice of words
1. Maison capitalization
The inner logic of the sentence itself rhymes with this essence in that the word Maison is in its centre, the only one in capitals. It anchors the whole sentence while everything seems to be orbiting around it. Likewise. the Louis Vuitton logo is the opening page is serif in its font shape, centralizes standing up high across the whole website design .
2. Consonant vowels interplay
Talking about individual words, this brings us to the observation that there is a balance between words starting with vowels and those starting with consonants, with an elegant asymmetry in favor of the vowel ones. Consonants give it structure and articulation, while vowels provide breathe and resonance. The prominence of vowels rhymes with euphony while the balance between the 2 echoes the whole website design. It is symmetrical but not rigid or sterile.
If one looks at the hero image of the opening page s/he will see this first hand in that is the bag stands upright yet its gesture suggests it is lived in . The latter doesn’t only evoke heritage and brand continuity, it also reinforces the lightness running across the design of the whole website underneath its apparent geometrical structure.
3. Choice of words as architectural clarity
As far as the essence of the words themselves is concerned , they are architectural rather than poetic. An emblem is fixed , legible across contexts, essence is philosophical rather metaphysical , while array is associated with spatial architecture , suggesting multiplicity without excess . Creation is a word suggesting artistry not products , while Maison is linked to lineage , House .This mirrors the whole site which leaves little room for ambiguity , once more suggesting authority and established presence.
Relevance with Classical Greek language
Rather than reducing the sentence to marketing technique , we choose to read through the lens of something older and more noble. Seen in this light, what becomes really interesting is tracing how it resonances with a world language. One that seems to be a matching choice is classical, ancient Greek .
1. Brevity as sohprosyne (σωφροσύνη)
Τhe brevity of the sentence is not minimalism. It is sophrosyne i.e moderation as accompanied by self knowledge and control born from confidence. If we were to look into such examples taken from the Logos of Ancient Greece, we could look into Heraclitus’s fragments , Thucydides’ density and Pindar’s compression. The Delphic maxim Μηδέν Άγαν (nothing in excess) reinforces such as world view .
2. Consonant -vowel balance and Greek euphony
Classical Greek is obsessed with euphony s well as between flow ( vowels) and articulation (consonants) . Greek Rhetorics itself teaches that vowels give breathe and openness, while consonants carry form and law. If you were to look at the alphabet itself, capital letters are angular, geometric, while small one curry curves – a flowing motion.
3. Words as architecture
Classical Greek does not treat words as ornaments, they are load bearing , they are an incarnation of Logos. For more details about Logos, I invite you to read the article
Greek Philosophy in Architecture : The Chedi Katara , Doha where it becomes evident that Logos is so much more than speech , it is an engineered small universe.
4. The ethical dimension : dignity without flattery
If one runs across the design s/he notices a subtle distinction, namely that the visitor is not flattered. This is profoundly Greek in that Classical Greek authority does not seduce, flatter or personalize excessively . It stands upright .
As a matter of fact in Classical Greek thought flattery is not a minor social act it is κολακεία ( kolakeia) meaning excessive praising , saying what delights rather than what it is true .
Greek favouring clarity makes an overall distinction between κολακειa ( ego stroking ) and αρετή ( excellence- areti) and Logos .
The sentence revisited at a higher octave – as a lens of perception
Having passed through the prism of the relevance with classical Greek thought and language, it becomes evident that the sentence is more than design or linguistics. In fact it is a Paradigm, it teaches lessons about perception as does the design of the whole Louis Vuitton webpage. For reasons of brevity we will just mention that :
1. Intelligent restraint is power, a hall mark of confidence
2. True eloquence involves both structure and fluidity
3. Brevity is equivalent to clarity , what is with held sharpens perception
4. Perception is educated not spontaneous
5. Where authority is real, perception is calm
5. Perception is spatial not linear
6. It unfolds in time
7. The most important one however is that perception is ethical
How one sees, reflects who s/he is . Restraint, clarity, balance and dignity are only aesthetic values ,they are moral dispositions of one’s mind . Fine perception is not about receiving more , but about refining oneself more to recognize what is already there.